The Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States (Artist: C. J. Fox)

Biography

Charles Whittaker rose from humble origins to serve on the nation's highest court. He was appointed a federal trial judge in 1954; in 1956, he was elevated to the Court of Appeals. Whittaker was well-regarded as a judge; and that persauded Eisenhower to move him to the major league. Whittaker experienced a nervous breakdown on the bench. He found decision-making excruciating and almost impossible. Following his doctor's orders, he retired. As one scholar summarized it, "his tenure was distinguished only by its brevity and by his own inability to develop a coherent judicial philosophy apart from the orthodox political conservatism of the Republican Middle West."